Doc Rivers Shouldn’t Have to Be More Than A Basketball Coach

• Head coach Doc Rivers was visibly upset while talking to the media about Jacob Blake before the Los Angeles Clippers’ 154-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
• Jacob Blake, a Black man, was inexplicably shot seven times by law enforcement in Kenosha, WI, on Sunday — three months after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis.
• Speaking out about the police and social injustice in regards to the Black Lives Matter movement, Coach Rivers stated, “We keep loving this country and this country doesn’t love us back.”

Blake was shot by law enforcement while trying to enter his vehicle this past Sunday. According to police, Mr. Blake was seen reaching for a knife, but Jacob’s family attorney has told CNN that Blake did not have a weapon in the car.

The incident happens approximately three months ago to the day that Mr. Floyd was murdered at the hands of police in Minnesota. What is happening in our country? I don’t have the proper words to explain it — it’s simply nauseating.

Before going up 3-2 in their first-round NBA playoff series against the Mavericks on Tuesday night, Coach Rivers of the L.A. Clippers was basically shaken to tears when discussing the shooting of Mr. Blake in Wisconsin. I certainly can’t blame him. In fact, I feel for him. We all should. Watch the video below:

Doc Rivers’ Insight Should Inspire All of Us

Coach Rivers opened up his heart and soul to us, and we must listen. Rivers said:

“All you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear. We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that we’re denied to live in certain communities. We’ve been hung. We’ve been shot. And all you do is keep hearing about fear.”

I’m sorry, but the quote tells the entire story.

Instead of talking about what a huge win over Dallas would mean for the Clippers’ chances to send the Mavs’ packing come Thursday night’s Game 6, Rivers is having to discuss yet another act of racial injustice in America. Give me a break.

Black Lives Matter

This video is disturbing. View at your discretion. If Black lives truly matter in the United States, police officers must be trained differently and recruited with higher ideals in mind.

Doc Rivers lays it simply, stating:

My dad was a cop. I believe in good cops. We’re not trying to defund them and take all their money away. We’re trying to get them to protect us, just like they protect everybody else.

C’mon, people. This isn’t hard. Let’s give back the power to coaches like Doc Rivers, and allow him to be just a basketball coach. Not a spokesperson for racial inequality.

Coach Rivers, in his own words, added:

It’s really so sad. I should just be a coach.